Image via Ubisoft
Excitement and drama were the names of the game on Day 2 of the APAC Relegations.
After the match between Monkey Hunters and The Last Dance had inexplicably not been broadcast yesterday, both the APAC South matches today -- Team Bliss vs The Last Dance, and ROFLCOPTER GG vs Sharper Esports -- had also been scheduled to be off-stream.
In addition, Team Bliss player Todd Francis continued to criticize the organization of the Relegations after the VOD of the MH vs TLD match was only provided 20 minutes before map vetoes and a further hour before the match itself began.
In somewhat of a saving grace for ORDER and Wildcard Gaming, who play the winners of each respective match, a community production team of four stepped in to organize a stream and cast for the two APAC South games.
Despite the odds, Team Bliss got things started with a devastatingly strong 7-2 win on Chalet: a map often-favored by The Last Dance. However, TLD turned on the style on Kafe, going up 4-2 on the attack before winning it outright at 7-4.
The decider map went similarly, with a 4-2 attacking half on Coastline turning into a 5-2 advantage for TLD. Bliss had been the favorites to secure promotion to APAC South, and they showed their strength by nearly making it 5-5. But a timely tactical timeout for TLD won them the map 7-4, and the series 2-1.
The second APAC South match was far less of a contest, with ROFLCOPTER GG answering back for Oceania. A dominant 7-3 Clubhouse began proceedings against Sharper, with every ROFLCOPTER player having a positive K-D.
Sharper took the fight to ROFLCOPTER on Kafe, though, going up 4-2 on the first half. But the Oceanic team slowly brought things back and turned the tides, winning 7-5 and setting up a date with Wildcard tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in APAC North, FAV gaming was eager to show all their experience gained against playing teams like DWG KIA and SANDBOX Gaming. The first map of Chalet saw them get a 4-2 attacking half, but Sengoku Gaming brought things back from 2-5 to 5-5. However, it was not enough, and FAV hung on for a 7-5 win.
Villa, however, was a bloodbath. Another 4-2 half from FAV set the tone, and three back-to-back attacking rounds won them the map 7-2 and retained their place in APAC North for 2022.
T1 was not to be overshadowed and picked up right where they had left off. While their Stages 1 and 2 had been poor, leading to their present Relegations fight, a seemingly-hodgepodge roster had actually performed well in Stage 3.
The Koreans never looked like losing to REJECT on Oregon, and they took a 5-1 half en-route to a 7-2 victory. On Clubhouse, though T1 had a bout of shakiness, they still managed to win 7-4 and retain their place in APAC North alongside FAV.
However, unlike in APAC South, a loss in the second round is not the end of the top-flight dream. With a third APAC North spot on offer in these Relegations, both Sengoku and REJECT will battle it out for their last chance at top-flight qualification for a year.
Tune in tomorrow for the final days of both the APAC North and South Relegations.